Help with next boat ideas

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pezza3434

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Hi everyone,

I'm currently doing some semi-serious day dreaming about a sailing boat upgrade and wondered if anyone could help with ideas of boats I could be looking at.

I live on the South Coast and currently sail a Wayfarer dinghy out of Calshot. I love it, but launching and recovering is an absolute pain in the bum. I also feel that something that can be slept in would help to make it much easier to spend longer on the water.

Here's some criteria I wrote:
  • Can sleep on it. Some sort of protected cabin.
  • Budget is somewhat flexible. 20 - 30k range, but would happily wait and save up for the right boat.
  • Smaller is better. Mainly cruising two of us. Don't need luxuries. Mid twenties foot range. Doesn't need to have a dedicated head, or standing head room. Happy for it to be very much camping on board.
  • Something that can very happily be kept on the water. Fed up of launching and recovering every time.
  • Can be single handed.
  • Has 'good' sailing performance. Ideally a sloop rig because that's what I'm used to.
  • Reasonably modern. Less than 20 years old, ideally much younger. Most manufacturers don't make boats less than 30ft these days?
  • Something I can manage. I'm not a boat expert at all. A boat that has an active community really helps with this. Will probably be paying others for a lot of the work which is another reason smaller is better.

Some contenders I've found:
  • The smaller boats in the Swallow Yachts range
  • Beneteau 211 or 25.7
  • Jeanneau Sun 2000

The Swallow Bay Raider expedition is probably my favourite at the moment because it's a small boat that can be purchased new for 20 - 30k. But it is at the small end of the scale at 20ft.

Thanks everyone!
 
Both these may be a bit bigger than you’re stated ideal, but how about a Beneteau First 27.7 or a Parker 27/275?
Or a Jeaneau Sun 2500 is perhaps more your desired length: Jeanneau Sun 2500 Used Boat for Sale 2007 | TheYachtMarket

All fast and nice-handling boats to sail. The Beneteau needs a bit of weight on the rail in a blow I believe, so you might be reefing earlier if single handing.
 
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How about a Yarmouth 23 - really nice, quality, proper little cruising boat, much more traditional than racy though and won't appeal to everyone. There are a couple for sale in your budget range which I find quite surprising there being such a dearth of used boats for sale at the moment and any decent ones are being snapped up quickly...
 
Thanks to the OP for posting this. I've just sold my boat and I am in more or less the same place with regard to requirements for a smaller new one. I'm watching and listening with interest. I am currently being drawn towards the Jeanneau / Beneteau ranges which seem to meet my thinking closely. Trailerable, shallow draft with lift keel, reasonable performance and basic inside accomodation.
 
Ah so many questions you need answers for. Only you can answer. Where will you sail it? Where will you moor it? Will you take it home for winter? Do you have or want a car big enough to tow it? Are there launching facilities nearby. I bought a 21fter 40 years ago and still love it. Have done a few voyages with 4 people (cramped) for 3 nights.
Sails really well till now I deteriorated to racing only at local club. Comfortable in horrible weather. But a pretty lively motion in rough water.
Not a type available in UK (Castle 650) Oz design. Vertical lift keel takes up a bit of cabin space but means very shallow draft with keel up. Easy launching/retrieval and no need for a tender if you go ashore. I keep it on a swing mooring through summer and enjoy fettling it at home over winter. ol'will
 
I had a Parker 21 back in the 90's and wish I still had it. Doubt I'd find one over here in Portugal and buying in uk and trailing down would have been a possibility except for the brexit created difficulties of boat registration over here and the VAT questions that will bring.
 
pezza3434 said:
Doesn't need to have a dedicated head, or standing head room. Happy for it to be very much camping on board.
Click to expand...
You'd be surprised how quickly you get used to having a head on board and being able to stand up. - especially when it's pissing with rain and the loos are 300 yards away! Likewise an inboard diesel. An outboard can be a horrible thing when the sea kicks up a bit, and one that will push a small cruiser is likely to be heavy enough that you won't want to lug it ashore every time, but not so heavy that the local scrotes won't want it. Your budget will get you a very nice small comfortable cruiser with enough space to move around, take you across to Cherbourg or down to the West Country, and still have a bit of performance.

Don't knock a second hand boat. A well-loved and looked after one, even if it's 20 years old could be as good a buy as a new one, which will probably need as much fettling and spending money on as a good second hand one - the list of "optional" extras can get terrifying when you start adding them up, but many second handers will already have them. I've no personal experience of them, but I hear good things about the Parker 275, which would be in your budget, and the lifting keel means you can sneak into corners other yachts can't reach to enjoy a quiet anchorage, unworried about the need to find a loo. That, or something similar is a good size - big enough to manage when you get the forecast wrong, but small enough for a tug on a line to control her when mooring.
 
There are loads of boats of this description, including the Sadler 25/26 but in practice the choice may depend on finding one in the condition you want.
 
A couple of years ago we changed from a Wayfarer to a Beneteau First 25.7 - easy to handle, good performance and decent accomodation. There is still an element of "camping" on a boat this size but also some "luxuries" such as heads and a proper table.
At the time we wanted a lift keeler and something that sailed well, we looked at Parker 27.5 / 28.5 (from 1990's) and found them tired and the accomodation a bit compromised by the lift keel. We also looked at Beneteau 21.7 and quickly dismissed - accomodation offered little over a cruising Wayfarer.
There were no Beneteau 27.7's available - which we would have looked at.
If you are happy with something a bit smaller the Parker 235 sails well.
 
You will find there were very few yachts built under 30ft in the past 20 years, but lots more if you add another 10 years. On the Yacht Market (23 - 30ft, £20000 to £34,000) there are only 6 available later than 2000 and 18 later than 1990.

Slightly older boats also worth considering include.
MG27
Moody 28
Westerly Merlin
Hunter 31

I should say I sail a Westerly Fulmar first launched in 1980 and I could have bought a new 32ft yacht but I prefer the older designs. You biggest problem is the lack of boats to choose from at present. So many have been sold recently and very few have been placed on the market due to the current lockdown.
 
You're limiting yourself a bit by wanting something "not too old". There haven't been many sub-30ft boats built since 2000.

Things that spring to mid are Red Fox, Hawk, Cornish Crabbers, Beneteau Firsts, the last of the British Hunters maybe?

The French still make boats under 30ft, but not much call for them in the UK, so you could see what's for sale in France. I saw a really nice little boat over there last year, about 23ft I think. Can't remember what it was called though. I'll have a scan and see if I can dredge up the name for you.
 
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